Quote:
Originally Posted by Wandering_Youth
...Now I got a question about the shrine. A mirror is enshrined in it so are there any Japanese mythical lore that relates to mirrors
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A mirror is one of the three sacred objects of the Japanese imperial family, and is held in the Grand Shrine at Ise. When the sun goddess Amaterasu was angry and hid in a cave, the other gods set up a mirror in a tree outside it, and when she caught sight of the beautiful goddess in it (herself), she came out. Many Shinto shrines apparently have mirrors in them as sacred objects.
There is also a story about a girl whose mother bequeathed her hand-mirror to her when she died, telling her that when she was sad, she could look into it and see her again.
Also, the king of hell is supposed to have a mirror that will show your sins.
And it's a common old Japanese custom to cover up mirrors with a cloth, supposedly because mirrors can attract evil spirits.
Actually, all the old stories about mirrors concerned metal mirrors: discs of bronze with one side polished so highly that you could (more or less) see your face in them.